Directed by Osgood “Oz” Perkins and based on the 1980 short story by Stephen King, The Monkey follows twin brothers Hal and Bill (Theo James), who after stumbling upon their father’s vintage toy monkey in the attic witness a string of horrifying deaths unfolding around them. In an attempt to leave the haunting behind, the brothers discard the monkey and pursue separate paths over time. However, when the inexplicable deaths resurface, the brothers are compelled to reconcile and embark on a mission to permanently eliminate the cursed toy.
After Osgood Perkins had majorly stepped up as a director with his previous film Longlegs, he is back again this year with an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s darkly humorous yet creepy short stories. As most people know by now I am obsessed with Stephen King and I can be extremely critical of any attempted adaptations of his works, but this particular adaptation I was excited for, especially after just having seen Longlegs and loving it. After getting the opportunity to see it at an early screening, I am happy to say that not only is The Monkey one of the best Stephen King adaptations made in recent years, but this may also be one of the best horror comedies I’ve seen in a long time.
Osgood Perkins fully embraces Stephen King’s mean-spirited dark humor from his novels to deliver one of the most batshit crazy films of this year so far. It’s a film that contains very committed performances, endless laughs, hilarious self-awareness, creative gory kills, and well-crafted technical elements. I adored it from start to end and it is the kind of unhinged horror comedy that I could see myself rewatching many times over due to how fun it was.
Similar to some of Osgood’s previous works this film features a small yet excellent cast who all deliver dedicated performances to the absolute insanity that is presented even if some of them have a short amount of time on screen. Leading the charge is Theo James in a phenomenal double performance as the twin brothers, Hal and Bill. The two brothers are presented earlier on at a young age to have two starkly different personalities, thanks mainly to the brilliant double performance of Christian Convery, and are both traumatized differently by the chaos caused by the Monkey that gets to be shown beautifully through their older selves by Theo James.
Since the film is mostly shown through Hal’s perspective he’s the brother we get attached to the most as Theo gives a hilarious yet poignant performance that I absolutely loved from the moment he came on screen. While he certainly delivers a lot of laughs with his performance and deadpan delivery as Hal, he also manages to deliver a grand amount of charm and surprisingly even some heart even in a film that is as f**ked up as this. He also manages to deliver laughs as the other brother Bill, though it is clear Bill is much more unhinged and unstable in comparison, which is wonderfully displayed by Theo showing off the incredible range he is capable of. Theo James has certainly been a rising star lately but this may be my favorite performance of his so far in his career.
Joining Theo as Hal is Colin O’Brien as Hal’s son, Petey, who is certainly a calmer and reserved individual compared to his father but isn’t afraid to speak his mind when he wants to. Colin O’Brien delivers his own brand of humor and shares some great estranged chemistry with Theo as Hal making them quite a unique duo to have in a horror comedy that I personally loved. Even though their estranged relationship isn’t necessarily the main focus of this film they do share a lot of well-written and performed interactions littered throughout the film that make them investing as they are dragged into a road trip of bloody carnage as a result of the Monkey.
Tatiana Maslany has a short but pivotal role as Lois Shelburn, Hal and Bill’s mother, and she was absolutely fantastic. While a part of me wishes she was in the film more I think her role was perfect as is as she manages to deliver unfiltered humor and charm as the mother of the twins injecting a little bit of heart amid the gory chaos. Given her experience in projects like Orphan Black, I’m honestly surprised she wasn’t involved in a Stephen King adaptation sooner because she perfectly fits the world of his novels.
Rohan Campbell returns to the big screen after a three-year absence since Halloween Ends, and while he also plays a short role in this film he is also excellent and hilarious. For me personally, he was one of the good parts about Halloween Ends with his performance and I was hoping that even after how disappointing that film turned out to be he would at least get more work after, and I’m glad Osgood managed to get him for this. I honestly didn’t recognize Rohan at first when he came into this film and while one could argue it’s because of his crazy hairstyle he has I do feel he managed to turn in a uniquely fun performance that showcases his potential range as an actor.
Elijah Wood makes a super brief appearance and while he certainly was funny in the short time he was on screen he felt like an unnecessary addition to the film for me personally.
The titular Monkey doesn’t talk but it’s definitely a memorable character in this film, with a super creepy design, unnerving theme when it is activated, and giving off an insane amount of dread when it’s around even if the results are grotesquely hilarious.
When it comes to the narrative this film is a completely different beast compared to Longlegs both in tone and style. Osgood has clearly crafted his own unique version of the Stephen King short story with all the additions and changes he made from it, but he also clearly embraces the demented humor, twists, and satire that a lot of Stephen King stories include, which make for a bloody entertaining film that had me laughing almost constantly. And while there is an interesting commentary about parenthood and death that can be seen littered throughout this film this is a full-on horror-comedy through and through that never takes itself seriously in the slightest.
While there are some parts that are creepy and disturbing this film isn’t intended to be scary but instead aims to be funny in a demented manner and it absolutely succeeds in achieving that goal. There is so much twisted and vile shit that happens in this film that any normal person shouldn’t be laughing at but it’s all so well done in a darkly hilarious and creative fashion that you can’t help but laugh at it. It’s relentlessly unhinged from start to end, never holding back from going all out with some clever setups and immensely satisfying payoffs.
There is one strange addition to the film near the end where something randomly pops up out of nowhere with no real explanation as to what it is or what it meant but given the amount of crazy shit that occurs in the film nothing really surprised me anymore at that point.
The film is extremely well made on a technical level and while it is visually different from the stunning visuals of Longlegs this film has its own striking visuals and cinematography that is executed masterfully and completely fits with the tone of this film. A lot of the cinematography and editing does offer some creepy sequences, but much like the screenplay it is more focused on enhancing the humorous elements of the film and commits to the over-the-top nature the film has going on. The film’s creatively gory kills are mostly executed with fantastic practical effects though there are occasions where some CGI is used for certain kills, and while some of it looks great there are others that don’t look so great, which may largely be due to the very low budget this film has in comparison to major blockbusters. Regardless though the kills are still brutally hilarious and never failed to make me laugh consistently with just how crazy each of them was.
Composer Edo Van Breemen offers a great score for this film but the collection of songs this film has in its arsenal are definitely a highlight that fits with this film’s consistent insanity.
Osgood Perkins has proven that he does indeed have great versatility as a director and is capable of delivering an awesome Stephen King adaptation that fully embraces the dark humor of some of his works, which makes me wonder what he could do with some other Stephen King works if given the opportunity to make another one. This is one horror comedy you do not want to miss and I highly encourage you to go see it if you want a bloody good time that will give you endless laughs, as well as make you feel just as twisted as the film itself. I’m going to give The Monkey an A = 97.
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